Nick - why is Kessler so convinced that this is a ponzi? And yes, this is obviously referring to Agape...if you read his July release as well....it is, no doubt, talking about Agape.

Investor AlertAnother New York Ponzi Scheme appears about to Collapse

New York, New York, December 19, 2008â€”

The recent headlines focusing on Bernard Madoff have captured nationwide attention. The chairman of Madoff Investment Securities was arrested for apparently running a long-term, fraud-based Ponzi scheme, duping many big name investors over the years for an approximate total of $50 billion.

The news story has caused many individuals to apply more scrutiny to their own investments, focusing on several factors that are obvious red flags indicating they may have invested their own money in a similar Ponzi scheme, albeit on a smaller scale than that of Bernard Madoff.

In the late summer of 2008, Kessler International, the worldâ€™s premier forensic accounting, computer forensics and corporate investigation strategies firm, completed an investigation into fraudulent investment operations. The findings were published in an earlier press release, and the results were subsequently turned over to local, state and federal authorities who to date have not acted upon the information, allowing the operators to take advantage of additional investors. At that time Kessler found that almost 98 percent of the investment operations paying exorbitant rates of return are Ponzi schemes.

"In these economic times, people are looking for ways to make their money work for them, and there are individuals that prey on that," said President and CEO Michael G. Kessler. "Through our investigations, we've found that many of these so-called opportunities are frauds and scams, and any potential investor is susceptible, from the novice to savvy financiers."

Recently, Kesslerâ€™s Long Island office has again received numerous reports from worried individuals, concerned that they have invested large sums of money into what appears to be a Ponzi scheme run by a local company. As Long Island is known as the capital of brokerage firm scams, as depicted in the February 2000 movie â€œBoiler Roomâ€, it is no surprise that other fraud schemes have taken up residence there as well.

What Kessler finds very troubling is the apparent lack of concern and the wait-and-see attitude shown by regulators when possible Ponzi schemes are reported by investors. While many of the individuals who run these Ponzi schemes do eventually end up serving jail time, it is often too late for the investors, who then find themselves unable to recuperate any of their lost investment. Based upon conversations with the Long Island investors concerned about their investments, the action they are taking is too late, as the information they have told us raises the red flags that the Ponzi scheme may be on the verge of collapse.

Additionally, many of these same investors, even after seeing the red flags and potential warnings both before and during the investment, choose to do nothing. This can be attributed to greed or the simple hope that they may still get their money back so long as they donâ€™t cause any trouble for those running the investment operation.

The Ponzi scheme attracts a steady tide of initial investors for a variety of reasons, most notably a high return-on-investment after a relatively short period of time. During this economic crisis, in which fear, greed and desperation have forced aside common sense, and even banks are no longer a secure option for many, more individuals are choosing to invest in what appears to be a questionable investment.

However, as the state of the economy has only continued to worsen, what was once a lucrative swell of investors is already beginning to recede, causing many Ponzi and pyramid schemes to fall long before they were meant to. This is evidenced by reports of recent announcements by the Long Island investment entity to investors that payment due dates are being postponed, possibly indicative of a forthcoming collapse.

For years, Kessler International has been using its expertise in accounting, computer forensics and corporate fraud to investigate financial and cyber fraud. Established in 1988, Kessler International's satisfied clients are comprised of an extensive and distinguished list of Fortune 500 companies and prestigious law firms worldwide. Its diverse staff includes former prosecutors, former law enforcement agents, attorneys, certified forensic accountants, CPAs, certified internal controls auditors, licensed investigators and researchers.

that's it, I'm outta here...I was thinking about investing and starting researching and was alarmed by the information I found. Good luck to all current investors, and hopefully new investors do their own homework before writing any checks. If this thing is still standing a few months from now, I will get in....only time will tell.

CORRECTION, ck was deposited on 22nd and cleared on 23rd. next day due to next day availability { ck was drawn on same bank i have an account with} and if i scan the ck and remove my personal info i would also remove the routing and acct number, wouldnt i. then it would look like a fake.. im not looking to ease any1s mind, im just upset that i allowed myself to lose sleep over every1s comments....

...Banking Law Â§340, read together with Section 501 of the General Obligations Law and 3 NYCRR Â§4.1 , provides that a license is required to engage in the making of loans to individuals in New York State having a principal amount of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less for personal, family, household or investment purposes or a principal amount offifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or less for business or commercial purposes, having an annual rate of interest over 16%....

come on people, please dont tell me you actually think that was Nick Cosmo. You cant' get the guy on the phone. His people shuffle you from office to office from voicemail to voicemail and you think he singed on here and wrote that??? please...

Unfortunately Nick can't answer every call since he has over 5,000 investors and still has a job to do. As he said in the meeting "Be patient if I don't call you back right away". I'm sure he is also receiving calls from people on this thread that are not active investors and I know for a fact that he was in Florida recently.

For those on this board who haven't been able to make the meeting and want us to post a summary of what was discussed, I have news for you - he still has two more meetings coming up before 12/31. I advise you to get there and listen to what he says instead of listening to all of the Bull$hit that is taking place on this board. As the moderator posted previously "Just the facts".....

Agape was founded by a convicted felon who worked at a boiler room brokerage firmAgape is not registered with any government agency - SEC, FINRA, NY Banking - no oversite at all.Agape does not provide investors with audited financials.

Hey Nick, If this is indeed you why not post right here and put people at ease. Many of your investors and sceptics are at this site.You could start by telling your background, and that of your associates and associations ie. education, past employment, criminal history ect. and then proceed to some info on all past loans and future loans and how you generate such exorbitant returns for your investors. Then we would be interested in knowing how in such a poor economic conditions, exactly how the borrowers secure there traditional loan while the bridge is in place, and at a time when even banks are hardly making loans. Also of interest would be what licenses you hold and what regulators your company answers to. Another question would be how you guarantee 99% of the investors principle and if so why a need for insurance. There are numerous more questions but lets just start with the basics.

Unfortunately Nick can't answer every call since he has over 5,000 investors and still has a job to do. As he said in the meeting "Be patient if I don't call you back right away". I'm sure he is also receiving calls from people on this thread that are not active investors and I know for a fact that he was in Florida recently.

For those on this board who haven't been able to make the meeting and want us to post a summary of what was discussed, I have news for you - he still has two more meetings coming up before 12/31. I advise you to get there and listen to what he says instead of listening to all of the Bull$hit that is taking place on this board. As the moderator posted previously "Just the facts".....

rock - most of what is said is FACTUAL:

1) Nick is a convicted felon, guilty of financial fraud and spent 2 years in prison2) Agape was incorporated in NYS in Aug 2000, the exact same time Nick was released from Federal prison (not in business since 1999 as stated on the website)3) Loans are currently being extended, which historically has signaled a collapse of a ponzi operation4) The internal staff does not consist of seasoned veterans of the commercial lending world, but a strange collection of reps that were previously nightclub DJs, etc5) The is little to NO transparency of the actual loans, unlike reputable Bride Loan lenders (go to their websites to see for yourself...most include staff biographies, pictures of properties that they are giving loans on, etc, etc)6) There are multiple shell corporations that have been opened over the past couple years at the EXACT same address and suite # of Agape - historically another red flag of a ponzi operation7) Possible violations of NYS Banking laws for not being licensed. Nick's voicemail box is full, and investors feel like their concerns are being ignored.9) Mike Kessler, who makes a living investigating such frauds, has written two articles clearly indicating that he believes this to be a ponzi scheme10) I could keep going on, and on...

Seriously people...just do your homework - the facts are right there in front of you. I am not an investor, just a concerned citizen. A lot of people are going to be financially ruined if our intuitions are correct, and numerous others could face serious jail time...including brokers and sub-brokers. Even investors that took out gains could be on the hook to repay what they collected...it could be a giant mess in the end. As I said before, I hope I'm wrong...but something just doesn't smell right.

just because someone doesnt directly have money in this doesnt mean they can't be concerned and add insight. Maybe someone they love is involved?? If someone showed up and your house and tried to steal your wife/husbands money, you wouldnt sit back and watch.....

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